1) Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to the gaming industry and, more particularly, to systems and methods for validation of gaming vouchers in connection with electronic gaming machines.
2) Background
Casino gaming continues to grow in popularity, bringing about steady growth in both the number and size of casinos. At the same time, technology for electronic gaming machines has continued to improve. Gaming machines now typically are configured with microprocessor-based intelligence for handling gaming functions and, in some cases, for handling communication with a central computer or network that manages a large number of gaming machines.
Casinos and gaming establishments have traditionally relied upon coin-operated gaming devices. Such coin-operated gaming devices have a number of drawbacks or limitations. For example, they generally require customers to carry around large numbers of coins, which can be inconvenient or burdensome to customers.
To increase convenience to players, casinos and gaming establishments have begun to explore and develop cashless gaming techniques, which allow players to game without using chips or coins. One technique that has been developed is the use of printed pay-out vouchers in place of chips or coins when a player is ready to “cash out” his or her winnings (also referred to as the “purse”) and either move to another gaming machine or trade in the winnings for cash at a cashier. Some machines may provide the player with the option of receiving the pay-out either as chips or as a printed voucher. At the completion of a gaming session, a player selects pay-out, causing a printer integrated with the gaming machine to dispense a printed pay-out voucher having a voucher code and a payment amount. The player then takes the voucher to a cashier, who cashes the voucher.
One example of a system using coupon or ticket printers to perform cash-out is described in International Patent Application WO 98/59311 published Dec. 30, 1998, hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth fully herein.
Cashless gaming systems are often deployed in an environment in which the gaming devices are connected to and controlled by a central computer, which serves as the host for a local area network, and such systems are referred to as “on-line” systems. Accurate centralized accounting in on-line cashless gaming systems is highly important, because when machines can be played with coins or with credit (via a cashless technique), the number of coins in and out will not necessarily reflect the total intake or payout of a gaming device. Where printed vouchers are used, each printed voucher pay-out is typically transmitted to the central computer, which is thereby able to keep a running account of the activity at each gaming device. Voucher records are stored in a database in the central computer system, and reconciled against cashed vouchers which are presented to cashiers at the gaming establishment.
Some gaming establishments have attempted to make the cash-out process more convenient by providing self-serve cashier machines. A player takes a printed pay-out voucher to a self-serve cashier machine and presents it to a scanner. The scanner reads the ticket, and the self-serve cashier machine sends the voucher data over cable connections to a central computer which verifies the validity of the voucher. The central computer sends a voucher verification indication back to the self-serve cashier machine, which then pays out the appropriate amount to the player, much like an automated teller machine (ATM) at a bank.
While printed vouchers have increased convenience to players in some respects, neither of the existing methods allow cashing of tickets on the floor of the gaming establishment, where it would be most convenient to players. Instead, players need to walk over to a cashier or find a self-serve cashier machine. With gaming establishments growing in size and becoming more complicated in floor layout, it can become an annoyance to players to have to locate the cashier or self-serve cashier machine in order to get their pay-out.
On the other hand, cashing vouchers other than at a cashier or a self-serve cashier machine may be risky, and fraught with potential fraud concerns. To address the possibility of fraud, techniques for watermarking have developed, as well as encoding the voucher data on the ticket. However, these techniques are physical to the ticket, and may not protect against other types of fraud, such as duplicate tickets.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a convenient and efficient technique for validating gaming vouchers that can be used on the floor of a gaming establishment, while at the same time reducing the risk of fraud or error.